Bears roll past Belmont at Indiana Thanksgiving Tourney, 78-62

BLOOMINGTON, IN -- The Brown women's basketball team shrugged off some early struggles from the field to defeat the Belmont University Bulldogs 78-62 in the second game of the Indiana University Holiday Inn/Fazoli Thanksgiving Tournament. The win earned Bruno a bid in the championship game against the host Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday.

After going down by ten in the first five minutes of the game, Brown's defense took control, as the sure hands of freshman Tara Williams (Portland, OR), sophomore Barbara Maloni and junior Rada Pavichevich, whose crisp passing and accurate shots helped open up the game and send Brown into the break with a four-point, 40-36 lead.

In the second half, the Bears controlled the game's pace, forcing several turnovers as Belmont struggled to organize against a quick-paced Brown press. The Brown defense, which forced a total of 31 turnovers in the game, spurred a 27-7 run to put some distance between the two teams. Pavichevich and Maloni both nailed treys in the run, and with Williams consistently finding the open player on offense, Brown confused the Belmont D and put the game away.

Maloni finished the game with 28 on 9-of-17 shooting to lead all scorers, while Pavichevich added 13, including three from beyond the arc. Rachael MacDonald played a strong game at the post, finishing with a season-high ten as she dominated the low post, and eight different Bears found the basket in the game.

The Bears will face Indiana, who beat Furman in the first game of the tournament, in the first-ever meeting between the two schools on Saturday at 4:00 in the championship game of the Indiana Thanksgiving Tournament.